


Music, Drugs, and Flexibility

by revelationhope



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe, C137cest, Eventual Romance, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Incest, Jealousy, M/M, Minor Violence, Recreational Drug Use, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Underage Drug Use, unrequited romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-20 18:51:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revelationhope/pseuds/revelationhope
Summary: After Rick returns from prison, he finds that his grandson has turned into some type of guitar playing, weed smoking little shit who does flips across a mat for fun. Morty wants nothing to do with him, but Rick disagrees, remembering the moment they shared the night he was arrested.





	1. o. ~ gone

“Rick...you’re not leaving, right.”

Morty never thought he would have to ask Rick this question, at least for a long time from now.

“Yeah I am. To get ice cream,” Rick retorted in reply. He didn’t exactly have all the time in the world to have a friendly chat with his grandson, although in ways he wish he could. He wish he didn’t have to leave them, especially like this. He wish he didn’t have to leave Morty like this.

“So you’re coming back,” Morty managed to crack a smile with a hopeful tone in his voice, which ultimately disappeared when Rick’s dull expression didn’t change.

“Morty, if you go to where there’s a bunch of ice cream and you don’t come back, you haven’t _actually_ gotten ice cream. You’ve just gone to where ice cream is.”

Rick turned around to leave Morty for the last time, before Morty piped up again.

“Rick-,” he paused as his grandfather turned around. He studied Rick’s movement for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking again:

“-I can handle it if you leave.”

_Lie._

“But you’ll break mom’s heart, and I won’t forgive you for that.”

_I won’t forgive you if you leave me either...please don’t leave me like this. If you really care about me under your shitty attitude than don’t. Leave._

Morty’s face remained stone cold as he bored into Rick’s emotionless gaze. Morty hopes that he would be able to win him over, get him to stay. Realize that this entire idea of him leaving again was stupid. Maybe coaxing the idea of Rick breaking his daughter’s heart for a second time would get him to just....not get on that ship and fly away.

Because if Morty let that happen, he would never see the man that he had so much love and care for again. He knows he’s sick, for feeling such warmth and light when he was around his own grandfather. Morty couldn’t help it, and in ways, he didn’t _want_ to help it.

Morty could feel tears well up, but remained still. Rick sighed a little bit, his eyes half lidded as he said the last thing he thought he would ever say to his grandson:

“Where’s the van Morty?”

_No, please._

“S’over the horizon, in the driveway,” Morty mumbles, looking at the sky above.

Please let this be a last moment 180-degree change in perspective. Please Rick, don’t leave me like this.

Morty watched in disappointment as Rick made his way over the driveway, towards the van.

_I love you.....wait a second....maybe...just maybe..._

Morty would see the way Rick would look at him sometimes, the prideful glint he would sometimes receive from him. He knew Rick had something there for him. It made Morty smile at the thought of Rick holding him close, murmuring in his ear about his returned feelings and promising never to even think about leaving him again.

Morty watched as Rick’s fingers wrapped around the handle to the van. Morty quickly began sprinting, pounding his feet against the grass as fast as he could manage to catch Rick before he left.

_He can’t leave is he heard this, right? It’ll just make him an asshole if he does..._

“Rick wait,” Morty yelled, grabbing Rick’s hand and pulling it away from the handle. “Just-Just let me- can I just say this one thing?”

Rick sighed loudly through his nose and raised an eyebrow towards Morty, but leaned against the door in defeat. He gave a small head nod that told Morty to continue.

“I...I...I lied okay? I will be completely and utterly heartbroken if get in that van and fly away, because I know that if you do, you’re not coming back. I...I lo-care about you a lot Rick, and I don’t want to let you walk away from your _family_ without at least trying-d-doing something, so uh haha,” Morty laughed nervously and rubbed his arm, and without even considering the consequences, leans in and pushes his lips to his grandfather’s.

Morty closed his eyes and quickly melted into the kiss. This was all Morty has ever wanted in a long time, as weird and sick as it sounds. He wanted Rick to kiss him, hold him tight, tell him how much he means to him. He wanted to feel something out of Rick.

This was as close as he was going to get for a very long time.

Rick stayed still for a moment before quickly pushing his grandson off of him. Morty lost his balance, falling backwards into the ground. He watched helplessly as Rick opened the door and shut it. He started the van and quickly flew away. Morty guarded his face from loose dirt and grass before watching the van fly further away from the planet, until he could no longer see it.

Morty sat there, cross-legged and staring at the ground for several days, considering the days on the planet aren’t that long. He felt tears roll down his face in anger, balling up fist in the air before slowly raising it down. He can’t result to anger, he should have known better. No one can get through to Rick Sanchez.

Not even his own grandson.

Morty heard footsteps behind him and he slowly turned around to see Beth and Summer walking towards him. He quickly wiped away his tear before looking back st the ground.

“He left,” he said quietly, but loud enough for his mother and sister to hear him. Summer sat next to him and looked at her younger brother in confusion.

“Left? Why would he risk leaving if he’s in such hot shit right now?”

“Because he’s not coming back, that’s why,” Morty snapped in reply, getting up and walking around. He felt so lost, even though he was just walking around in uneven patterns and circles. This was all too much, Rick hasn’t abandoned him before. He felt so dark and lost. All of his perception and idea of time was gone. His warmth was gone. His light was gone.

Now he’s just...empty. No where to turn or look. Just stuck in time, no movement.

_I guess that’s what it feels like, I’m sorry Mom_

“See!? Didn’t I tell you guys,” Jerry came from the cabin, throwing his hands in the air for dramatization. “Letting that psycho into our lives was only going to lead to this bullshit and fuckery!”

“Shut up, Jerry,” Beth replied, turning to the rest of her family. “Besides, Dad wouldn’t just leave us like thi. Abandon us on this stupid dwarf planet.” She chuckled dryly before pointing at Jerry, “He didn’t leave.” Jerry held up his hands in surrender, rolling his eyes in reply.

“Whatever you say Beth, continue to live in denial like how you have for the last two years Rick crashed into your life. I, however, will have no part of your sick illusions.”

“Mom I really don’t think you should count on Rick to-,” Morty began to speak before his mother turned to him, giving him a narrowed look.

“It doesn’t hurt to have some faith in your grandfather Morty,” Beth huffed and crossed her arms, watching the sky and waiting for the van that contained her father to come sailing back into her vision and land right next to her family.

_He didn’t leave us, no. He wouldn’t do that again._

 

~

Beth’s idea of her father began to falter about three days ago.

It’s been too long and she realized that. She was utterly heartbroken. She couldn’t believe he would do this again.

“He’s not coming back, is he,” she wondered aloud as the sun began to set for what felt like the thousandth time. No one moved, or said a word expect for her son.

“No,” he replied, staring hard at the ground, heartbroken himself as the dusk evening turned to pitch black night.

_Why would you do this to us...to me, Rick...why’d you have to leave?_

“Hey look, cops,” Jerry yelled from the roof of the house, pointing up towards the sky. Morty looked at his father, following his finger to the dark sky above, seeing a ship land in front of the family. Morty’s heart sank, knowing what would have had to happen for the Federation to be standing in front them right now.

_No...no..._

One of the agents stepped onto the ground from the ship, eyeing the Smith family with what appeared to be some type of sympathetic look in his dark, red eyes. The look made Morty’s blood boil, as if they didn’t just arrest and haul his grandfather off to prison.

“Good morning,” the agent said to the family as the sun began to rise once more. Morty knew from this moment he would never see his light again.

He would forever be stuck in the dark, even if it didn’t seem that way.


	2. i. ~ long time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Morty get into a fight about his return. Rick decides to play the victim card while Morty lays out his abandonment issues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the delay, a long one to make up for it...maybe?

It took Rick five days to not only construct a new portal gun out of random auto parts from a junkyard, but to also find out where the hell did the Smith family move to.

After constructing a workable portal gun, he was able to portal back to Earth, his home. When he walked all the way to the old neighborhood all he discovered was a large for sale sign on the front lawn.

That took only two days. The other three was constructing another device that was able to track Morty’s brainwaves. That led him away from the rainy state of Washington, across the entire country to some small, separated town of Saith, Ohio.(that is not a real town, so like don’t google it)

He managed to find Beth on some social media site. Apparently his own daughter wasn’t that clever enough to not post her address for the entire world to see, but it still helped in his favor.

But now, after all of that hard work, Rick stood on the Smith’s new front doorstep at nearly three in the morning. The neighborhood was quiet and dark, the moon being blocked behind the wall of trees that guarded the surrounding houses. Rick managed to use his own guesstimate and intuition as he picked the lock to the house.

He inspected the new home thoroughly, finding it to be bigger than the old house. Rick didn’t hate it, but the thought of the Smith’s just packing up and leaving. Why? Was it because of him? Yeah, he was gone for two years, but didn’t they think he would come back? He shook the thought away as he made his way towards the staircase.

He found an overwhelming sensation as he walked quietly up to the second floor. He couldn’t exactly place what he was feeling with an emotion, but god he just couldn’t wait to see that shocked grin his grandson would have on his face as he would push open his bedroom door as he used to. Not stumbling in drunk, but instead holding up a pair of galactic federation handcuffs in triumph and flicking on the bedroom light, with a gigantic smirk on his face as.

He couldn’t wait to get back into the swing of things, he was stuck in that shitty facility for waaay too long.

As he made his way slowly up the spiral staircase, the bass of the music and the soft flashing of light from under the door at the top of the staircase became more present and loud with each step. Rick slowly reached out and twisted the doorknob. He peeked in, managing to move his head far enough to see the open space of the second floor. He narrowed his eyes as he saw nearly a picturesque copy of the downstairs living room. Two living rooms, huh? Probably Jerry’s idea.

Rick rolled his eyes before straightening himself out, walking towards the middle of the room. The music was full blast now, some stupid pop song blasted their way into his ears. The bright, techno-color lights flashing from the screen made his own shadow cascade across the second living room carpet. The whole ordeal made him cringe.

_Good to see Summer most likely hasn’t changed._

Rick paused mid-step as the sound of giggling made its way from the adjacent hallway, which he was guessing led to the astray of bedrooms. He scrunched his brow, slowly backing up towards the stairs as another shadow made its way into the room. That shadow was quickly associated with a body, which Rick quickly recognized as his own grandson.

Rick stared emotionless as he took in Morty’s updated features. Morty’s curly hair appeared longer, more managed. He appeared taller and older looking as well, I guess that’s what two years does to a kid? Rick didn’t really know, nor did he really care.

He was really surprised when he didn’t see Morty sporting his yellow T-shirt and jeans, or even his matching pajamas. Instead he appeared to be wearing a white shirt and a pair of....fucking yoga pants?

Rick blinked rapidly as he scanned his grandson’s attire, but then quickly looked away.

“Fucking quit it! God you’re such a dick,” Morty laughed as he plopped onto the couch. He immediately brought his legs to his chest, completely oblivious to the tall figure standing in a dark corner of the room. Rick watched curiously as another guy plopped besides Morty, shooting him a smile in reply.

Okay, now Rick was really confused. Since when did Morty say a full sentence without tripping and stuttering over his own words? Also, the most important thing:

Since when did Morty have friends?

When Rick left, Morty one of the most awkward kids he has ever encountered in his lifetime. Come on, his only companion was his grandfather. Rick couldn’t help but feel a slight numb burn churning in the pit of his stomach. Not even himself, the smartest man in the multiverse could even begin to interpret what he was feeling right now.

The guy threw his arm around Morty and Morty only leaned into the gesture. Rick’s eyes only narrowed as he analyzed the quiet conversation going on between Morty and his apparent friend.

Morty laughed at something nonexistent before reaching towards the side table next to the couch, grabbing a notebook and laying it in his lap. He began to flip through the pages, pulling the pen that was clipped to the back page so he could begin writing.

“So I was thinking that we...start out with this song...maybe,” Morty asked, pointing the end of the pen towards the TV. Morty began rambling on about other songs, the guy sitting next to him lapping up whatever he said.

“So you really like this band, huh,” the guy interrupted, grabbing the notebook from Morty’s small hands and scanning the page. Morty crosses his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

“Well yeah, we all agreed that we wanted to focus the showcase-“

“Can we just forget the showcase for right now? Let’s just...indulge in the presence of each other,” the guy dramatically said, laying on his back and being Morty with him. Rick blinked in surprise, knowing he needed to intervene before he saw some things he honestly didn’t want to see.

Morty only laughed a little bit, slowly leaning in to kiss the guy on the lips. Rick quickly stepped out from the shadows, loudly clearing his throat. Morty looked over, expecting to see his family but nearly stopped breathing when he saw Rick standing there instead.

Rick and Morty stared at each other for a while, the older one of the two just sporting a dumb smirk on his face. Morty wuickly relaized he was still laying on his boyfriend, so he quickly unscrambled himself to his feet, refusing to break eye contact with Rick.

“Uhm...Wyatt can you go to my bedroom, please?”

“Are you sure you’re-,” Wyatt started, but Morty held up a hand in his direction.

“Please-,” Morty started. “-let me handle it.”

Wyatt looked in between Rick and Morty before getting up from the couch with a sigh. He gave Morty a peck on the cheek before scurrying down the hall, Morty watching him go.

Morty turned back towards Rick, rolling his eyes as he saw his grandfather taking a long swig from his flask. Morty only crossed his arms, looking at the floor. He didn’t have the courage to look Rick in the eye again.

”How? How the hell did you manage to break out of a Galactic fucking prison,” Morty started, rapidly tapping his foot against the carpeted floor. Rick whistled, feeling the hostility in the room.

“Wow Morty. I can’t- Not even a- a hello? A hug,” Rick said sarcastically. He held out his arms with a sarcastic smile on his face. Morty only rolled his eyes in response.

“Answer my question.”

Morty did even have to finish his sentence before a pair of Galactic Federation handcuffs were thrown at his feet. He looked down, lightly kicking them with his foot. He saw the bright blue prisoner ID code encrypted into the cuffs. He glanced at Rick before slowly bending down to pick them up.

”Jesus Morty you can- it’s not like they’re a bomb, Morty. Just pick them up-“ 

“Shut up Rick,” Morty snapped as he stood up, twisting the cuffs around his fingers. He scoffed lightly before tossing them back in Ricks direction, Rick catching them with one hand. Rick crossed his arms across his chest, but not before taking another drink from his flask.

“What the fuck is your problem huh? You, and your parents-“

“Mom and dad divorced. Dad’s still in Seattle,” Morty interrupted. Rick let out a long sigh through his nose at the interruption. However, he couldn’t help but feel slight relief knowing he no longer had to suffer through anymore of Jerry’s idiotic behavior.

“Okay...your mom decides to pack up and- and what, Morty? Move across the fucking country? To live- live in this shithole,” Rick threw his hands in the air in exaggeration. Morty stayed silent, only raising his eyebrow as he listened to his grandfather’s argument. “Do you not how that, I-I don’t know would effect ME Morty? No matter how big of a pain of my assed this family is, I’m ashamed to say I’m a part of it too!”

“Don’t pull that card, Rick,” Morty raised his voice offensively, pointing a finger in his direction. “ _You’re_ the one that left us! If you were really a part of this family and respected the future of it than you should have stayed!”

“Oh and stay on the stupid dwarf planet another fucking day? Or how about this Morty, how could I have possibly stayed with the family that has a fucking son who had the hots for-“

“Don’t. Even,” Morty said coldly, staring at Rick. His eyes were dark with anger and his entire body was racing with adrenaline as the memories of his 14 year old self cane rushing back. The sleepless nights of thinking about him, the dreams he would have when he did get sleep. That skyrocketing kiss that utterly rocked his entire world. It all came back at one, and Morty didn’t know how to handle it. “I-I...that was a mistake, Rick...I’m with- I’m dating Wyatt now. Besides, we all know damn well that was not the reason why you left. Why you did what you did, or- or- or-“

“The stutter is back once again. I didn’t know I had that effect on you,” Rick remarked as he took another drink. Morty didn’t say anything for a couple of moments. He stood there, rubbing his arms and looking at the floor.

The thought of Rick standing in front of him was utterly surreal. He thought he would never see the old man again. He took nearly nine months after Rick’s arrest to repair himself of his broken heart. The fighting between Beth and Jerry had gotten even worse.

The divorce destroyed the little progress that he had made.

His mother began drinking even more, staying late nights at work. Summer began rebelliously acting out, a lot more than usual. Morty just had unhealthy coping mechanisms. Refused to go to school, his grades began to drop. He rarely ate and stayed in his room most of the time. He fought with Summer more often, but rarely talked to Beth more than he did on a regular basis.

He never had the courage to go see Jerry for nearly three months after their Jerry left.

The remaining Smiths decided to move and get a fresh, clean slate. It felt so wonderful, living in a new place. He picked up so many new things as hobbies and he found himself someone who really loves him and wants to be with him. He’s never had a better relationship with his family before, they’re closer than ever.

He didn’t want Rick’s return to possibly ruin all of that.

“Are you gonna say anything Morty or are you- ya gonna stare at the floor like a dickhead,” Rick shoved on Morty’s shoulder, causing Morty to jolt his head up. Morty looked at him with sad eyes, but quickly masked it with another eye roll.

“Do you remember...the day you left? When I said that I would have been fine if you left?”

“You mean like right before you decided to kiss me? Yeah, I think I remember that quite well Morty,” Rick rolled his eyes as he leaned himself against the wall. Morty sighed, eyeing his grandfather up and down before speaking again.

“I wasn’t fine. I wasn’t really okay until I moved here. _No one_ was fine until we moved away from Washington. Where memories of you were, Rick. You destroyed Mom, to where it drove Jerry crazy and he left her. You...you left me Rick. I know how sad this fucking sounds, but you were the only person at the time who was there, feelings returned or not,” Morty raised his voice when Rick opened his mouth to refute.

“So you did....you-you’re such a sick person Morty. Having feelings for your grandpa? You’re even a more pain in my ass then-,” Rick spoke, but Morty quickly shook his head and held his hands up in protest.

“Would you- just stop changing the god damn subject. I’m over you, I’ve been over you for nearly a year and I will never, _ever_ be into you again, so you have nothing to fucking worry about, Rick.”

It got so quiet in the room, only the sound of the music from the TV was playing in the background. Rick and Morty stared at each other once again, taking in each other’s features just one more time.

Morty looked so different, it was almost alien to Rick. He couldn’t help but miss the Morty he knew well. He didn’t really want to have to get to know another one all over again. Rick hasn’t changed, at all. He looks the same as he ever did, and Morty knew seeing him at all would be hard.

He can’t let this setback ruin all of the progress he’s made. He should have known better anyway, that Rick would find some way out of prison and set on a fucking quest to find them. He should have been ready for that.

”Mom and Summer aren’t home, they went away for the night for some college thing I don’t know,” Morty said quietly,looking down at the floor.

”Beth just lets you stay here alone,” Rick said shocked, leaning back up on his own feet again. Morty didn’t react to Rick’s shocked face, just turned towards the hallway. “And Summer? _College_? Never thought I’d see the day.” 

“Yeah well, you’ll have to deal with Mom in the morning. You can sleep here or downstairs if you want, I don’t really fucking care what you do. I just...I have to go to bed so I don’t have to see your fucking face anymore,” Morty said quietly before making his way down the hall.

”I’m not leaving if that’s what you think, Morty,” Rick yelled at him from down the hall, causing Morty to stop in his tracks, door on the handle to his bedroom. “Like I said, R-Rick and Morty forever, a hundred years....you remember that, don’t ya Morty?”

Morty didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. He could feel Rick’s gaze piercing through his back and the dumb smirk he probably had on his face. He let out a deep sigh before slinging open the door and slamming it shut. He saw Wyatt laying on his bed, quickly sitting up when he saw his boyfriend had entered the room.

”Hey, babe, I heard yelling out there. Is everything alright,” Wyatt asked, pulling Morty’s small frame close to him. Morty smiled a little at the concerned, leaning in quickly to the oh-so familiar touch. He laid his head down on Wyatt’s chest, staying quiet for s second before sighing through his nose.

”It’s all good, yeah...don’t worry about it love, it’s all fine,” Morty whispered, leaning up to kiss Wyatt on the chin. Wyatt smiled in reply and gave Morty a quick, loving kiss on the lips. Morty smiled into it, rolling over to flick off the bedside lamp. Wyatt grabbed his arm and Morty snapped his head in his direction.

”You promise?”

Morty couldn’t help but smile, “Yes, everything’s fine. I promise.” They both have each other wide smiles before Morty flicked off the lamp, the entire room indulging in the darkness of the night.

”Goodnight baby.”

”Goodnight, love.”


	3. ii. ~ let me break it down for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick sits down with Beth and Summer as they explain what’s happened while he’s been gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that’s a bad chapter title, like rip. also thank you guys for the love on this story so far. it’s not a lot, I know. but god it means so much to me.
> 
> who’s cutting the onions like ugh-

“You know I’d never thought I’d see the day you would take- go to college, Summer.”

The next morning, Beth and Summer walked into the house at 7 o’clock to see Rick, chilling in the downstairs living room watching Ball Fondlers on Interdimensional Cable.

_”Nice to know you’ve already made yourself comfortable, grandpa Rick.”_

_“You sure as hell did, moving your asses all the way across the country like some- like hitchhikers or some stupid shit like that.”_

They’ve been awake and talking since then, discussing recent activities. Rick wanted to tiptoe around the fact that they moved without his consultation, but it was so hard to bite his tongue and keep quiet. Especially when he had chewed off Morty’s ear about it last night, which didn’t turn out well.

”When are you going to say that without sounding completely surprised, Rick,” Sumemr retorted, sitting next to him at the dining room table. Rick scoffed quietly before downing another gulp from his flask, closing it with a loud burp.

”Not surprised, just disappointed,” Rick replied as he leaned back against the chair.

”Why?”

”Summer,” Rick started, moving his head to look at his granddaughter. “You already know my opinion on school. School in general is a dumb black hole of useless information and controlled thinking. _College_ however, is even worse. You pay thousands of dollars in tuition to write essays and give useless speeches for the next four years of your life that is apparently meant to “broaden your interests” of the major that you had to competitively fight to be a part of. I just thought I knew you better.”

”Two years is a long ass time, grandpa Rick. You would know, considering you spent that time rotting away in a galactic prison.”

”I was gathering enemy intel!”

”You could have done that without going to fucking prison and abandoning your family and you know it!”

“Alright,” Beth yelled, walking into the dining room. She held two plates of homemade breakfast in her hand, looking in between her father and daughter. She sighed hard, dropping the plates in front of them both before sitting at the head of the table. “Summer, it’s not polite to cuss at your grandfather-,” Rick held up two middle fingers in Summer’s direction with a dumb smirk on his face. “-however, dad, Summer does have a point. Although she could have expressed it differently.”

”Oh come on, Beth! Not even you, my own _daughter_ is unwilling to see my own reasons for leaving,” Rick overdramatically got up from his chair, leaning his arms onto the table. “That’s- It’s utter shit!”

”I may be your daughter, yes. I’m not saying I ridicule you for leaving, and I’m not saying I’m not looking down on your decision. I just want you to understand what happened _because you left_ ,” Beth grabbed Rick’s wrist to keep him from storming off, staring up at him with pleading eyes. “Please, dad. Just listen to me, for once.”

Rick stared at his daughter for a moment, before slowly sitting down. He didn’t like that look Beth had on her face, it made him uncomfortable. And knowing Beth, she would probably stare at him with that same look for the rest of the day. He didn’t want that, because he would probably get sick of it and storm out of the house out of utter desperation to get away from his daughters shitty attitude.

“Fine, whatever. But I just want to say that before you go blaming me for your family’s problems, this family had a lot more baggage on it’s shoulders waaaaaay before I went to prison. Just putting that out there,” Rick mumbled, grabbing his flask from his coat as a reflex. He sensed he would probably need this to get through this “sad story”.

”You’re not wrong about that either, dad. So after we had gotten back to Earth after you were sent to prison, the first few months were...difficult to say the least,” Beth started, keeping her eyes focused on the dining room table. Rick rolled his eyes, grabbing his fork and digging into his breakfast.

_”Maybe if I chew loud enough I can drown this out.”_

”And well, I’m not proud of this, I feel like I didn’t take it as hard as I did when I was little,” Beth shrugged, a look of shame on her face as she refused to make eye contact with Rick. Now it was Summer’s turn to roll her eyes.

“To get to the point, she kept drinking full bottles of wine and staying late at work. Jerry refused to get a job and anytime Mom was actually home, all they did was fight.”

“Like more than usual?”

”You don’t know the half of it, dude.”

”Dayum,” Rick mumbled into his flask, taking multiple sips from it. Beth rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

”Thank you, Summer, for the commentary.” Summer just shrugged, utterly confused of what she had done wrong. She turned her phone off and slid it away from her to officially join the conversation.

“What? You were going to take forever to get to the point, and we all know grandpa Rick doesn’t have that big of an attention span to listen to you tap on for three hours,” Summer said before looking at Rick. “Anyways, Mom began drinking so much to the point Jerry decided to leave. He’s in some crappy apartment in Seattle. I kept sneaking out and leaving for days at a time, I argued with Morty when I was actually home. I didn’t really talk to Mom at all.”

Rick only nodded a little as he continued eating as Summer took the wheel from Beth. Summer did have a point, Beth wasn’t going to really finish this in a reasonable amount of time. He wasn’t really going to pay attention anyway, no matter who was telling the story. These issues were bound to happen whether Rick had left or not. He wasn’t going to listen knowing that his own family blamed him for they’re problems.

”Morty got distant and his grades dropped even worse than when you would take him out of school. At some point he only had a GPA of 1.3,” Summer sighed as she thought about her little brother. Rick’s eyes bulged and he almost choked on his food.

”1.3? God damn, I didn’t- I mean we all know Morty’s a fucking dumbass but- Jesus Christ.”

Beth and Summer stared at Rick as he chuckled to himself. He went back to eating after getting himself together, but quickly noticed the quiet tension in the air. He looked back up, looking between them before rolling his eyes.

”What? Wh-UGGH-t did I say?” 

They both rolled their eyes at his ignorance before Summer continued: “Morty was falling behind. He didn’t eat much, obviously didn’t sleep much. He got depressed too, like majorly depressed. He still says he wasn’t, but we all know that he was. Like, it was so bad. He wouldn’t leave his room a whole lot either. He did self harm too, like cuts all over his body-“

At that moment, all you could hear was the sound of a fork dropping against the plate.

”He did what?”

”Oh of course,” Summer scoffed in disbelief, leaning back against the chair. She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “Now you pay attention! Should have started with that, we all know he was your favorite.”

“Summer,” Beth scolded from across the table. Rick raised an eyebrow at Summer, mimicking her body placement.

”Should I reconstruct my fucking equation about how little meaning you little shits have in my heart and how you both are equally pains in my ass,” Rick asked sarcastically. He saw Summer slump slightly at his words and he rolled his eyes. “S’what I thought. Now finish this before I get more bored than I already am.”

”Whatever, but Morty started cutting himself-,” Rick gripped the fork in his hand a little tighter as a numbness took over in his chest. “-like he was definitely the most torn up about you gone. You were his only companion and you just left out of the blue.”

”In my defense he did say he would have been fine if I had left,” Rick interrupted, but Summer paid him no mind and kept talking. “...and this went on for about the first year you were gone, like 11 months or so. Then we just sat down one day and had a serious conversation about how this wasn’t helping us better ourselves as people, continuing to put you in the center of our lives when you were no longer anywhere to put,” Summer stared down at the table and Beth reached over to grab onto her hand. Summer looked up and they both shared smiles. Rick rolled his eyes, pushing away his empty plate.

“You should have _realized_ that before I left, you know.”

“Kind of like you need to realize that interrupting me every time you hear something you don’t agree with doesn’t make your argument any less valid,” Summer asked in reply. Rick held his hands up in defense and Summer let out an audible sigh through her nose.

“Well dad, it didn’t help living in a town filled with so many memories of you and how happy we were. So we moved to Saith. Not to toot my own horn, but I used my savings to open up one of the most reliable vet hospitals in the entire state,” Beth put on a modest smile and Summer laughed a little at her.

”Although my grades weren’t utterly mind blowing, I did get accepted into art and design school in the next town over, and I’m a fashion design major,” Summer explained and Rick processed that in his head and nodded.

”Sounds about right, you were always into that type o’ shit.”

”And Morty’s approved so much,” Beth started, holding a hand to her heart and sighing happily. “He’s picked up so many new hobbies that he loves, and he’s such a better student. He’s even on the honor roll now.”

”You’re kidding,” Rick said with gritted teeth. Beth just laughed a little and put a hand on her father’s shoulder. “What kind of hobbies, exactly?”

“You should see him dance! Oh, he’s so graceful and full of energy! I can’t believe how good he is in just so little time! Oh my gosh and he can do wonders on a guitar-“

”Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Rick held up his hands, looking at his daughter. “Did you just say....dance? Like as in, ‘Morty is a dancer now’ dance?” Beth smiled and nodded proudly.

”He’s really phenomenal grandpa Rick, like honest. He knows how to move his feet. He said he has a showcase in a couple of weeks, you should totally go and see him dance,” Summer grabbed onto Rick’s arm, shaking him a little. Rick nearly immediately pulled his arm away and looked between the two girls as if they were crazy. All of a sudden, Rick bursts into fits of laughter. Beth and Summer stopped their smiling and looked at Rick in confusion as he slapped his hand on the table, his laughing growing even louder. They looked at each other, shrugged, and then looked back down at Rick.

Rick paused to catch his breath, holding a hand to his chest. He snickered for moment and wiped away some tears from his eyes. He looked at Beth and Summer with a smile before the smile nearly immediately faltered.

“Wait...you’re like serious? Morty _dances_? For _fun_ ,” Rick looked in between them, alarmingly getting up from his seat. Beth and Summer nodded and Rick helplessly leaned against the wall. “Well...that’s something. You said he plays guitar too? The- What the fuck does he- you guys encouraged him to turn into some type of fucking off brand hipster?”

Beth opened to argue with her father but paused when she saw her son walk into the dining room. She smiled, her eyes fixated over Eicks shoulder. Rick scrunched his brows before whipping around to see what she was looking and immediately stared at his grandson. Morty leaned against the dining room entrance, dressed in a pair of leggings and a loose T-shirt, a duffel bag aligned over his shoulder. Wyatt stood next to him, dressed similarly, an arm wrapped protectively around Morty’s waist. Rick couldn’t help but snicker at the pair.

”Wow- oh God, Morty. What’s with the fucking get up? Your little boy toy is even twinning with you? What the fuck are you, huh? The-Fucking Wonder twins or something?”

”Mom, I’m going to practice,” Morty said, completely ignoring him. Rick couldn’t help but feel slightly offended. The fuck did he do to deserve the cold shoulder? He was _here_ , wasn’t he?

”Okay sweetie. I’m guessing Wyatt is giving you a ride,” Beth said happily, looking at the couple. Morty nodded but Wyatt opened his mouth to speak:

”Yes I am, Ms. Smith. I’ll make sure he’s home tonight as well,” Wyatt smiled at Beth, giving Morty a tighter squeeze. Rick crossed his arms, almost gagging as a reflex.

”Alrighty, you two go dance your hearts out,” Beth said as she watched the pair walk towards the front door. She grabbed the empty plates from the table before heading to the kitchen, Rick in tow.

“That rebellious looking fuckhead with the poodle hair dances with him? I didn’t think you were being serious! Is this family’s new goal to keep shit from me, without like considering I’m a part of it too?”

”Oh don’t be so dramatic, Rick. Morty’s happy, both romantically and recreationally. He feels like he finally knows who he is and what he wants. Don’t ruin it for him,” Beth argued as she dropped the dishes into the sink. She turned to face her father, leaning back against the counter as she spoke. Rick didn’t respond to Beth right away, but he pulled his portal gun from his lab pocket.

”Either tell me where he practices or I’ll just track him down and portal myself into his boyfriend’s car.”

”Is that really necessary,” Beth asked, but proceeded to scribble the address on a piece of paper and hand it to Rick.

”Yes Beth it is. He’s acting like the little shit he is and I’m going to talk sense into him,” Rick said, snatching the paper from Beth and looking at it. He tossed it onto the floor and proceeded to put the address into the gun.

”Someone’s scared of change,” Summer mumbled as she entered into the kitchen. Rick shit her a glare, shooting one of the classic green portals onto the kitchen floor.

”Shut up Summer,” he snarled as he dropped himself into the portal, it vanishing just as fast as it came. Summer and Beth looked at one another before she let out a sigh.

”I’m sorry he’s your father,” Summer said sympathetically before walking out of the kitchen.


	4. iii. ~ inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick crashes Morty’s dance practice to talk sense it him, but doesn’t listen to Morty when he says he’s happy.

Considering there was no official dancing hall in town, the local dance team was able to use Freeridge High School’s gymnasium. If anything, the performing arts kids were valued at Freeridge. You don’t really see that a whole lot in the public school system(no tea no shade but I mean-)

Morty sat on the hardwood floor, cross-legged as he pulled his body forward to stretch out his back. He heard a satisfying crack in his lower back, causing him to groan and collapse against the floor. A couple of his friends looked at him and laughed.

“Wow, Morty. I didn’t know you were trying to break your back,” Wyatt scooted towards him to help him upright. Morty smiled at him.

“I didn’t know either,” Morty laughed before Wyatt gave him a small kiss on the lips, some of their friends ‘aw’ed I’m reply.

“You two are so sweet, it makes me sick,” their friend Regan said in reply. They both laughed a little. Morty pushed Wyatt back to the open part of the circle.

”Go back and finish stretching,” he scolded as he hopped onto his feet. He stretched out his arms, legs, and even his wrists before doing a back handspring just to piss some people off.

“We get it you’re flexible,” another friend, Drew called out from the other side of the circle. Morty turned to face him and shrugged with a smile.

“It’s not my fault you guys are slow. Besides, I, and as well as everyone still has to do core stretching,” Morty said, and everyone literally groaned. He even thought someone started crying. “I’m sorry! But would you rather pull a muscle mid-dance or something?”

It was clear Morty was somewhat of a leader of the team, or at least the most trustful and responsible. Everyone knew that and no one tried to fight him on it.

Morty opened his mouth to speak again, but he heard a whirl and a flash of green splash against the hardwood floor from behind him. His insides went numb at the familiar sound and color. If he turns around and sees a fucking portal behind him, he’s literally going to lose his shit. He froze for a moment, slamming his eyes shut and balling one hand into a fist.

“You better be fucking joking me,” Morty whispered with gritted teeth as he slowly turned around, he immediately rolled his eyes as he saw his grandfather leaning against the wall, a portal closing when his eyes had focused on him. “Oh my fucking god!”

The rest of his teammates stared at Morty as he threw his fists into the air in anger. He could almost feel the steam rushing out of his ears as he heard Rick cackle from behind him.

“Drew, lead the core exercises I’ll be back in a second,” he mumbled as he marched away from the group, not even waiting for anyone to reply. He stared at Rick as he walked, pointing an accusing finger at him. “How in the hell did you get here?”

“Well, M-OURGH-ty,” Rick paused mid-snarl to take another sip of his flask and tucking it into his lab coat. “Your mother told me you’re doing stupid shit like this now? I’m sorry, actually no I’m not, but I don’t fucking think you’re right in the head. I know I left and you got sidetracked or whatever the fuck, but I’m back now so it’s all good,” Rick explained, turning the knob on the portal gun and shooting another portal into the wall. “Come on, a classic Rick and Morty adventure will make you feel better.”

Rick grabbed onto Morty’s wrist in an attempt to pull him into the portal. Morty, upon gaining more strength since Rick’s been gone, immediately yanked away from Rick’s grasp and shoved him into the portal, walking backwards away from the glowing vortex as it disappeared. He stayed still for a moment, but smiled in victory when another portal didn’t appear.

_“Good, I think I made my fucking point.”_

Morty ran back over to the circle, laying on the ground and getting into plank position. Everyone stared at him as they had apparently watched the whole thing unravel.

“You good, Mort,” Wyatt whispered over to him. Morty looked at him with a smile and nodded in reply.

“Yeah, couldn’t be happier,” Morty said with a smug smile. He couldn’t believe he had actually won an argument between Rick. He never thought he’d see the day. “Drew, go on. Continue.”

The rest of stretches went uninterrupted, to Morty’s luck. After discussing the hopeful goals of today’s practice, firstly starting with songs for the upcoming showcase, everyone went their separate ways around the gym and immediately went to work. Morty, Wyatt, Drew, and Regan decided to song search on the bleachers, racing to one of the top corners. Wyatt made Drew trip, causing the rest of the group to laugh and leave Drew in the dust.

Everything kept going smoothly for the next thirty minutes or so, until Morty saw that stupid fucking green portal again. Except this time it decided to appear right in front of the group. Morty only groaned in annoyance while everyone else gasped in aw as Rick stepped through. As soon as he saw Morty he glared, wiping off some rubble from his shoulder.

“You’re a little shit,” he snarled as the portal disappeared from behind him.

“So are you,” he snarled back, getting up from the comfort of Wyatt’s lap. “I’ll be back.” Morty gave Wyatt a kiss on the cheek before Rick led him down the set of bleachers to outside of the gym. Rick shoved Morty through the double doors and into the foyer of the school. Morty squeaked and glared at Rick again.

“Okay, that was uncalled for, _Morty_ ,” Rick sneered at him as he crossed his arms. Morty mocked him, doing the same. “I didn’t know you grew a pair of balls while I was gone. You sure you weren’t the one that went to prison?”

“Oh my God, Rick. How many times do I have to shove you through a god damn portal to get you to understand that I’m done with you? I’m done with the adventures, your teasing, the constant fear I’m going to die, and _you_ ,” Morty said, pointing a finger and jabbing it into Rick’s chest. 

Rick only gave a smirk, searching Morty’s angry expression for the sign of tears. He knew well that when Morty got pissed off, he would tear up and cry out of pure anger. He only furrowed his brows when the tears never came.

“I’m done with your manipulative teasing into brainwashing me that you’re- you’re some type of...uh I don’t know, God or superior fucking being and I’m just a spec of dust or another fucking pawn in whatever type of operation you choose to run. I have so much more potential than being your little worker forever. Dancing, Rick, is what I love to do. I’m really good at and makes me feel normal, something you never let me be,” Morty paused as his phone buzzed against his side. He pulled it out from the elastic of his pants and looked at the text he received from his boyfriend. He smiled at it, but still sighed. He walked past Rick without another word and down the hall of the school.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, dickhead,” Rick bellowed as he followed Morty down the hallway. Morty ignored him as he turned into a set of double doors, quickly stomping up the sets of stairs that revealed the second floor. “ “You still didn’t seem to think that way when you were jacking off to me when you fucking had the hots for me! Morty! MORTY!”

What he said only made Morty walk even faster, rolling his eyes as Rick screamed after him. He didn’t know Rick could be so relentless. It was honestly annoying. Morty thought over the last day and a half as he put in Wyatt’s locker combination. He was so indulged to where he didn’t even see Rick stop quietly down the hall, watching him put in the locker combination and opening the door.

Morty searched for what Wyatt requested through the text, smiling a little in triumph when he found it. He stuck it in the elastic of his pants before shutting the door, jumping when he saw Rick’s face behind it.

“Rick? What the fuck,” he breathed out as he began walking the way he came. Rick grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. “Uh ow!” Rick pulled up Morty’s shirt to look at the object imprinted against the side of Morty’s leggings. He narrowed his eyes before pulling back the elastic to grab it. Morty’s eyes widened, but he couldn’t help but blush at the action. “Get...off!”

Morty shoved him away, but Rick still held up the thin stick in between his fingers. He examined it before looking narrowly at his grandson.

“Why the fuck do you have a joint, Morty,” Rick asked quietly. Morty sighed hard, not looking at him.

“It’s not mine, it’s Wyatt’s,” Morty said, reaching up on his toes to grab it back. Rick only held it up higher.

“Were you going to smoke it,” Rick asked again. Morty stomped his foot on the ground in a whiny tone.

“Why the hell do you care? You’ve done much worse than fucking weed, Rick! You’re a fucking alcoholic for Christ’s sake,” Morty argued, struggling with Rick until he managed to snatch it back. He backed a reasonable distance away, holding a finger up. Rick only huffed, letting his hands his sides.

“So you are smoking weed,” Rick repeated with an eyebrow raised. Morty didn’t answer. “Just because I do it, Morty, does not necessarily justify the fact that it’s okay for you to.”

“It doesn’t mean you judge me when I do it Rick. That makes you a hypocrite,” Morty said and turned around to walk back down the hall. He paused, making Rick scrunch his brow a little. Morty turned around again, slipping the joint back into the elastic.

“About what you said, I know,” Morty looked at Rick, who looked utterly confused. “About me being aware of what you’ve done to me..manipulate me, tease me, belittle me-”

“Get to the point Morty.”

“I know, okay? I know I had feelings for you when I knew what you were doing. But...I was able to look past all of that because I thought you had some type of fucking humanity trait buried deep all of your own personal guilt and issues. But when you left, you proved me wrong.”

Rick started at him as he talked. In this moment, he felt defeated. It was as if he was finally processing that these changes were too drastic to undo. In a way, it stung. Hard. He can keep trying, but what would honestly be the point? Morty has grown into a headstrong, assertive young adult with a functioning mind of his own.

He wasn’t getting the old Morty back. He wasn’t getting his Morty back.

Morty just shrugged at his own monologue before starting to walk the opposite direction again.

Morty was halfway down the hall before he saw, once again, his shadow displayed against a background of green. He turned around to see a flash of a white lab coat and pale blue hair disappearing into the portal.

Why does Morty all of a sudden wish he didn’t say all of that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this was an awful and short chapter.
> 
> oops


	5. iv. ~ “sober” thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a quick dinner that night, Morty struggles with a creative block. So, with a joint in one hand and his guitar in the other, he escapes to the roof to reflect on his leftover feelings of Rick now that he’s here to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will kind of vividly describe and talk about suicidal and self harm thoughts. If you’re someone who gets triggered by that, I will put indicators of when the talk starts and ends, as well as this note at the beginning of this chapter <3

“Hey there sweetie, how was practice,” Beth said from the dining room. Morty smiled at her silhouette and slowly walked into the singing room. “Came home just in time for dinner. How’s was practice?”

Morty shrugged but smiled when Beh walked past him to give him a small peck on the cheek.

”Not completely fulfilling. We didn’t dance a whole lot, but we looked for songs for the showcase for next month. We found a couple, by not nearly enough to fill the two hour time slot we booked the venue for,” Morty tossed his duffle bag outside of the dining room and took his seat at the table.

”You have this problem everytime you plan your performances. You’ll get there, we all know you will,” Beth reassured him as she began sitting the food on the table. She sighed happily before putting her hands on her hips. “I’m going to go get your grandfather, then we can eat.”

Morty watched Beth walk through the kitchen in the direction of the garage. He looked over the table at Summer with an eyebrow raised.

“He’s already claimed the garage?”

“He did as soon as he came back from your practice. He hasn’t said a word since, he’s just spent the day withering away in there, as usual,” Summer said with a shrug. She resumed texting on her phone when Beth came back with Rick behind her. Morty looked away with his arms crossed.

“The bear emerges from his cave,” Morty mumbled quietly, already digging into the mixed vegetables in front of him. Rick looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

”What was that, little ballerina,” Rick retorted, taking the seat next to Morty. The teen only snorted at Rick’s attempted insult.

”Wrong. I’m actually a gymnast, but you know go off,” Morty retorted back, small snickers coming from his mouth as he made his plate. Rick stared at him in disbelief.

“Oh wow I will- I’ll tot-totally r-remember that for next time except for the fact I don’t give a fuck about what you do with your time.”

”Could you guys stop fighting...”

”Well you apparently- you seem to care a whole lot considering you crashed my practice _twice_ to “talk some sense into me” or whatever,” Morty growled as he stabbed his fork into his food. Rick glared at him before tossing his fork down on the plate and getting up.

”I’ll eat later,” Rick said quietly before walking back to the garage. Beth turned to Morty once the garage door slammed shut with a narrowed look. Morty chewed on his food, shrugging a little bit. He didn’t know what he did wrong.

”Why are you looking at me like that?”

”Why are you treating grandpa Rick like that,” Summer asked with her arms crossed. Morty sighed as he slowly sit his fork down. “He’s here, that has to count for something, Morty.”

”Well you’re not the one that tried literally everything in his power to get him to stay. You didn’t watch him fly away, I did. You didn’t sit there for days hoping he would come back with two ice cream cones in his hand with some stupid remark he always says. You weren’t completely alone when he left...,” Morty trailed off as the day Rick left flashed through his mind. He remembered the kiss so vividly, it was almost like he was there again. He cringed a little, getting up from the table quickly. “I’m not hungry.”

On his way out of the dining room, Morty grabbed his bag and ran upstairs and down the hall to his bedroom. He shut the door, locking it. He wasn’t in the mood to be disturbed for the rest of the night. He flipped on his bedside lamp before sitting against the headboard. He reached over to his bag, pulling it Words him and unzipping it. He looked through his extra clothes and shoes to find his notebook. There’s no reason he couldn’t get any work done.

He pulled out his phone as well, going through his music and clicking on shuffle. Morty stared down at the blank piece of paper as mellow and chill music filled his ears. He shook his head, immediately skipping the song. He jumped at the heavy guitar riff at the beginning before wuickly skipping that song as well.

Five minutes later, Morty had his chin in his palm, staring off into space as he continually skipped song after song. He had no idea what this meant or felt like, he had never went through a rough patch with ideas before. He’s been so consistent with this team and how he takes on its responsibilities with an iron fist. Why is he feeling so stuck all of a sudden?

Morty only sighed in aggravation and slammed his notebook shut. He tossed his phone onto the nightstand before laying his head in both of his palms. He rubbed his temples hard, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

What in the hell has him so distracted?

It was as if it was on cue, an image of Rick surfaced in Morty’s brain. He groaned, shaking his head as if it would get rid of the thoughts. Why did Rick have to come home now? Scouts are suppose to be at this performance...he can’t risk showing sign of slacking off, not when he needs to focus.

But why was his mind so focused on his psychotic grandfather? It didn’t really add up in his mind.

The thought made Morty get up and walk around his room, his finger tapping his chin in curiosity. It doesn't make sense...unless there was still something there for Rick..?

The thought made Morty freeze and literally gag on what little was in his stomach from dinner.

"Oh fuck no," Morty said aloud, immediately digging through his bag. "Nope, nope, nope, nope."

Morty held up the somewhat freshly rolled joint from the bottom of his bag. He smiled at it a little before grabbing the lighter as well.

"I need to get high," he mumbled as the thoughts continued to swarm his head. He heard a noise from outside of his door, causing him to drop everything back into the bag and quickly zip it shut. He tiptoed to his bedroom door, unlocking it and peeking into the hall.

The second living room started getting dark with the setting sun. Nothing seemed touched or bothered, just still. Morty started to close the door, but he saw the TV flick on and someone plop on the couch. He narrowed his eyes wondering who it could be, but he heard a loud, very audible burp. Morty rolled his eyes before shutting the door and locking it again.

He better hurry his ass out the window before Rick decides to bother him.

Morty grabbed the joint, lighter, and his guitar before walking to his bedroom window. He put his guitar down before pulling the window up and quietly taking out the screen. He slid the screen under his bed before grabbing his guitar and climbing onto the roof of the house.

Morty sat next to the window, but far enough to where it would be difficult to see him if someone were to just stare out the window. He reached his hand over, pulling his window shut before sitting his guitar in his lap.

He stuck the joint in between his lips and lit the other end, immediately inhaling and taking in the smoke. He held it for a moment before blowing it out of his mouth with a sigh, leaning his head against the side of the house.

Morty let his fingers lightly prick some of the guitar strings, creating an incoherent melody in the air. He smiled a little as his fingers grazed over the strings. Playing his guitar always made him so calm and he's worked so hard to be able to play it. Especially for high nights like this.

He used his other hand to grab the neck of the guitar, positioning his body a little bit more, and let his other hands do the work. He started playing randomly but coherently, tuning his sound as he went. 

Morty inhaled his joint again with a small smile as he heard his talent express itself physically. The melody started out simple, almost child's play for him, before he began to make it more complicated to challenge himself. He watched intently as his fingers moved skillfully up and down the neck, his other hand rapidly picking and strumming the chords. He started to nod to himself as he got lost to the music.

But the thoughts that decided to go away, even just for a few minutes came back in a heap. The music he created started to sound blurry, fading away from his own existence, but he still continued to rapidly play as he watched his fingers again.

Rick.

Morty's emotions towards his grandfather became so vivid and strong, he had to stop playing in order to compose himself. He took in a shaky breath, trying to relax his body and muscles, but they ultimately twitched and tensed up.

He wasn't going to calm down unless he thought his shit through.

Why does his mother and sister feel like they have this whole situation all figured out? 

Oh wow, I guess his mind was really going to betray him like this. Morty rolled his eyes at this, taking another hit to mentally prepare himself.

Rick left him in the dark, completely alone. Summer had friends to go to, and Beth had Jerry for awhile until the sadness turned him insane. Morty had no one but Rick for a long time.

Morty became dependent on Rick, of course even developing he unhealthy feelings for him. He was so disappointed in himself when that realization had hit him so long ago, that he liked Rick more than an adult figure, or a family member. He was utterly disgusted, but yet anytime he would think about Rick pulling him close and kissing him, it would make his heart flutter with happiness.

To Morty, it had felt right. At the time.

When he left, fuck wasn't he heartbroken. There was so many regrets in his heart, it first starting when he thought he could get the old man to stay with a cliche kiss.

But then again, no one can get through to Rick.

~t r i g g e r  w a r n i n g ~

He went through hell and back to get to where he was now. Hundreds of hours sitting in his room in the dark. So many endless nights of staring at the ceiling, before ultimately crying himself to sleep. So many cuts...and scars.

Morty couldn't help but run his hand under his legs, feeling some of the puffed up scars across his calfs.  He flipped over his arms, his eyes trailing up to see the many small, faded lines of a razor against his upper arms.

So many days where he thought of just cutting a little too deep and watching his life fade away in a couple blinks of an eye...

~t r i g g e r  w a r n i n g~

Morty had to shake his head, even take another hit to mark that thought away. Except he inhaled a little too quickly, causing him to cough into his arm. He cleared his throat before staring off over the houses across the street, looking at the distance city lights of the small town of Saith.

Saith was Morty's savior, his rebirth in a way.

As soon as he moved, he felt better. Moving didn't immediately solve all of his problems, but it did help. He was ridden of all the memories of looking into the old garage all day, or his old bedroom where Rick would constantly barge in under any circumstance.

He didn't have to deal with that anymore.

He was actually happy with himself and his life. He had a good relationship with his family, and an actual social life. 

Morty blinked back into reality, not even realizing the tears that clouded his vision. He quietly cussed to himself as he wiped the tears away on the back of his hand. He stared down at his hands, watching the joint in between his fingers slowly burn in the small embers it embedded himself in.

His happy place.

Morty chuckled at the thought before putting the joint back in his mouth, picking up the guitar.

Saith was his happy place, but what if Rick ruined that for him too?

He left once and he came back. He promised Beth he wouldn't leave again and he did. Now he's back again, this time claiming a promise to Morty.

Morty didn't buy into it, because he knows if he does, he'll become dependent on Rick again.

Who knows what will come of that? Morty didn't want to know.

So, was he happy that Rick was back? In a sense, yes. Morty is happy to have Rick around again, again, in a sense.

But he wasn't going to get manipulated back into Rick's world of adventures and near death. Not again, not when he's finally made a life for himself.

It's best to keep his distance from Rick, but Rick doesn't want to understand that. He probably won't understand it, ever.

But that's not Morty's problem.

Morty began strumming the guitar again, this time bringing a more quiet melody to the table. Morty didn't know if it was the weed or whatever, but he finally felt calm. Like truly at ease with himself.

Was finally confronting his own feelings a way to make peace with himself, and maybe even Rick?

Morty didn't really know the answer to that, but it was enough to clear his creative block.

Morty smiled happily, finishing off the rest of the blunt before tossing the bud into the neighbor's yard. He crawled over to the window with his lighter and guitar, pulling up the window.

He quietly climbed back in, slipping his screen back into place before shutting the window back. He tiptoed away from his window before slowly turning around, jumping in surprise.

Rick was standing against the doorway, flask in hand and an eyebrow raised. Morty rolled his eyes before plopping onto his bed, crossing his arms.

Keep your distance.

"How'd you get in here," Morty asked without making eye contact. He stuck in an headphone and grabbed his notebook. While Morty's back was turned, Rick rolled his eyes and straightened his back.

"It's not a maximum security facility, Morty," Rick sneered before taking a quick sip from his flask. "I have- there are these things called b-OUGH-by pins, you know Morty?"

"Yeah whatever, just what do you want," Morty asked as he shuffled his music again, already writing notes down about the song that started playing. Rick rolled his eyes again.

Since when was Morty so focused?

"Just 'bout to watch some Interdimensional Cable, you know...if you wanted to join me."

"Not really, I have stuff to do," Morty replies instantly, not taking his eyes off the notebook. Rick purses his lips, wiping the drool away from his lower lip.

"Okay, cool. Whatever, don't need you," Rick mumbled as he started to walk out and shut the door.

"Uh huh," Morty mumbled, only half listening to what Rick had said. This made Rick pause, tapping his fingers rapidly on the door knob before opening the door completely again. Morty groaned before looking up at him again. "Oh my god, what do you want Rick?"

Rick stared at Morty in silence, lightly tapping his foot on the bedroom carpet. There was so many snarky remarks he could say, but he took a deep breath through his nose before speaking:

"Just wanted to say sorry."

"For," Morty looked at him with an eyebrow raised, urging him to go on.

Is he actually apologizing for leaving for two years? I never thought I'd see the day.

"I'm sorry for crashing your dance practice today. It's your space and it was totally uncalled for. Sorry," Rick said quickly, already starting to shut the door. Morty blinked, making a impulse move without even thinking about the morals he had just made.

"Wait Rick," he called out, sitting on his knees to peek through the rest of the opened door. The door paused before opening again, Rick's frame peeking through.

"Yeah?"

"Uh...um..."

Is he seriously stuttering?

"Uh, dance practice! You can sit in on the next one, if you want...it's on Monday, if you want to stop by or something, see what I can do. Maybe show some support," Morty asked nervously with a small smile. Rick raised an eyebrow before snickering a little. "Never mind, forget that I asked. Good night."

Morty shook his head, crawling back to the top of the bed and putting in his headphones. Rick stared at Morty for a moment, stuttering a little to try and say something.

Morty remained unmoving, still writing notes on his notebook. Rick sighed before shutting the door, walking back down the hall.

Morty looked up once he heard the door shut, before groaning at himself and throwing his head back against the headboard. Why the hell did he say that?

Did he not just establish special morals for Rick like five minutes ago?

At least he didn't take it seriously, because Morty would probably hate himself if he was actually going to come.

Morty stayed int hat position for a couple of minutes before his phone buzzed against his leg. He jolted his head up, looking down at the lit up screen. It made him smile when he saw Wyatt's name on the screen. He had sent him a message. He quickly went to his inbox to look at it, kind of smirking at what he saw.

_found a song for our duet performance, what you thinkin boo? <3_

_  
_

_(Link)_

Morty smiled at it before clicking on the link, which took him to a lyric video of a song. He clicked play, turning on the sound and listening to the beginning.

A minute in, Morty began moving his head to the beat. Once the song was over, he connected his phone to his Bluetooth speaker, turning it up and unplugging his headphones. The song started once again, and Morty got up and began to dance around his room, twirling and moving his body so easily and naturally.

Morty never thought he would be here, a flexible dancer that loves what he does, that knows who he is.

His dancing was interrupted by his phone buzzing, causing him to pause mid-turn and walk over to his phone. He smiled at Wyatt’s recent message, which was just a bunch of question marks. Morty smiled before quickly texting him back.

_I’m thinking we just found our duet song <3_

Morty turned off his phone and started the song over after losing his rhythm. He smiled as the song began once more, and Morty danced through the night. 

His thoughts from earlier? Furthest thing from his mind.

Rick who?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This sounds oddly familiar...
> 
> Alexa play New Rules by Dua Lipa


End file.
